New World Order: Getter Discusses His Planet Neutral Alias

Yesterday we revealed Getter's Planet Neutral alias by premiering his silky smooth future bass remix of Frank Ocean's "Thinkin bout you". We were fortunate enough to have Getter aka Planet Neutral answer a few questions concerning this new project, what inspired it, and what he has planned for its future.

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When you created Getter, what was the sound you were going for?

Well at first I wasn't really aiming for any particular sound, mostly because I had no idea what I was doing, but as time went by I wanted to make the most guttural, metal influenced, gnarly, party synths - along with gnarly ass drums.

Obviously Firepower fit right in with that sound, how did you and Datsik/Firepower find each other?

A few years ago I was a part of a promotional company in the bay area. I was lucky enough to open for the biggest names in EDM because they were really the only good company in the bay at the time throwing super dope shows. I opened for Datsik a few times, but once I got really comfortable and proud of my sound and music, I approached him like a normal person (not fanning out or anything) and basically told a few jokes and we got along and exchanged info. At the time, Firepower didn't even exist, it was just more of a "here are my tunes, play them, k thx bye". So I sent him loads of my newest music I had been making, and one day I received an email from Datsik explaining how he's working on his own record label and wanted me to be the second release (of course I was down haha). The rest is history man. We became really good friends and he really helped me a lot with where I am today!What inspired you to create this production alias?

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Other than just experimenting, I got into the more mellow and chilled out music super late. I started listening to Clams Casino and Flying Lotus, which is basically what started the idea. I loved the simplicity of it all. The fact that it keeps your attention track after track amazes me.This alias, Planet Neutral, is it new or have you been working on it for a while?

I started making random hip hop/glitchy stuff on the side as I learned more about production. I had a good 4 or 5 tunes ready when I decided to make a sound cloud to post all of my side shit on. It was just for fun. I wasn't really expecting it to pick up at all. My roommate at the time and myself came up with the name "Planet Neutral" which is actually an anagram for my real name "tanner petulla". If you mix up the letters, you will get "Planet Neutral"! After that, like I said, it was just an outlet to put out my other shit. Thats still, for the most part, what it is, but I'm liking it more and more haha.

Is it any easier or more difficult to produce one genre over the other?

Honestly couldn't say. I mean it is evident that my dubstep songs are more complex with the mixing, sound design, and all that. But I haven't really messed around with melodies and anthems until recently with Planet Neutral, so that part is pretty difficult as well. So for the most part, there are different parts of each alias that are more difficult than the other.

How do you divide your time between working on Getter and Planet Neutral?

Usually, the way it works is like this: I’ll be working on a Getter track--or multiple getter tracks--then I’ll get to a point (usually 4 or 5 tunes in) where I get writer’s block, and I get stuck with whatever I'm making and lose inspiration. At that point, I’ll switch to Planet Neutral to exercise my brain and get a fresh start. So I’ll make a handful of Planet Neutral tunes and go back to Getter. "GETTER" is my priority, for sure!

Why remix Frank Ocean?

When Frank Ocean first came out with "Thinking Bout You" it was instantly on repeat in my car and in my headphones. It has always been one of my favorite songs. I was working on just a random hip hop beat for fun, and I noticed it had the same chord progression and arrangement as the Frank Ocean song. so i just threw in the original, and it fit perfectly!

It seems like a considerable amount of dubstep producers are no longer producing just dubstep. For instance, Rusko's latest single is a fast paced future bass tune, and dubstep's godfather Skream now produces strictly house and techno. What are your thoughts on why this is happening, and do you think this has played a role in your decision to create Planet Neutral?

Boredom honestly. I mean that’s what it is for me. I love Dubstep, and I’ll always listen to it, create it, and play it out. But when you sit in your studio every day and work on music, it becomes apart of your life more and more than just a simple hobby. If you are stuck making just one genre out of thousands of genres, you will get bored FOR SURE. This doesn't necessarily mean someone will "sellout" either. I remember when I thought if a Dubstep producer made Trap or House or whatever, it’s a way of selling out. Then I got to the point of "holy shit! I’m making the same thing over and over" and totally understood those artists.

Fans these days seem to think that they have possession of their favorite producers, they don't like them producing other than what they like to hear. What do you think fans of Getter will think of Planet Neutral?

That's one of the reasons I kept this as a side project. I feel like I could have put these songs out as Getter, but thats not exactly what I am going for under that alias. I don't really care what my fans say about my productions, but it is a big thing for me to keep the heavier stuff as Getter. It's always been that way. Don't get me wrong; I LOVE all of my fans. Its just that I recently discovered the sort of "good/evil" sides with my music. Getter is the evil, heavier side (of course) while Planet Neutral will be focused on all the mellow and chill stuff I make along the way. So yea, I think with the split alias people can't really hate on getter :)

What label or artist do you think is really championing this sound right now?

Well I gotta give it to my homie Parkinson White! He's been annihilating this style recently on Terror Rhythm records! Also Flume and Kasbo kill it. But my personal favorites in the past few months have been Rustie, Zack the Lad, and Diversa. It's so interesting to see what's on the other side of EDM because ive been so focused on one side, the "heavy" side. But i dont want any confusion, I will ALWAYS work as Getter! This is just a healthy side project for my fans! :)

If you could collaborate with one artist dead or alive, who would it be and why?

Gotta give it to my big dude Biggie. I mean, I sample him so much in my tunes. His voice is just perfectly aggressive and literally freaks people out. Alive would be Flying Lotus, just because I feel he's capable of making anything he wants and kills it every time.

What's your favorite plug-in or piece of studio equipment and why? Does the answer differ depending on what project you're producing for?

Every project I work on now or in the past is all about Native Instruments Massive. People are always telling me to use presets in other programs, but I can just learn it and make it in Massive and be way more satisfied and have way more control over it if I do it from scratch. That and Ableton.Any advice or tips for fellow producers?

Just do your own thing. Make your own sound. If you like it, there’s someone else out there that will like it too.

Any plans to take this alias on the road?

Not at the moment. It's just a good way to get rid of writers block--especially when I finish 4/5 tunes at a time with Getter. I just jump to Planet Neutral because my mind is fresh with this genre. Then after some Planet Neutral productions, I jump back to dubstep with a fresh mind. It ends up working out flawlessly! So to answer your question, as of right now, there aren't any plans to take Planet Neutral on the road or anything else for that matter except producing. But who knows, maybe someday it could happen. Just ridin' the waves for now!

What can we expect from Planet Neutral in the future?

Just remixes of classic songs and some cool collaborations :) Everything’s pretty new at the moment, so just keep an eye out.

If you'd like to catch Getter on tour, check out the tour dates below.